She Was No. 1 Player on No. 1 Team

As Jasmin Dao has gone, so has the Granada Hills High girls’ tennis team.

Dao, a junior who has improved steadily each year as the Highlanders’ No. 1 player, helped Granada Hills do the same this season.

The Highlanders won the City Section championship for the first time since 1983, beating Carson, 4-3, after losing the 1998 final and in the semifinals in each of the previous four years.

“Of course we wanted to do well and it felt good to finally win,” Dao said. “We played amazing tennis.

“But we worked for it and I think we really deserved it.”

Dao, The Times’ region player of the year, was 18-4 and advanced to the semifinals of the City individual tournament, farther than any player in the region.

Granada Hills finished 16-0 and Dao wound up fourth in the City individual tournament, losing to Judith DeVera of Carson, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the third-place match.

It was Dao’s second loss of the season to DeVera, a freshman ranked No. 27 in Southern California in the girls’ 16 division by the U.S. Tennis Assn.

DeVera beat Dao, ranked No. 47 in Southern California, in the City team final but Dao was pleased with her performance in the rematch.

“I’m never totally happy with how I play,” she said. “But I thought I gave her a pretty good match.”

Coach Ron Wood of Granada Hills said, “Jasmin played her much closer the second time they faced each other.”

The improvement was typical of Dao, who had never made it past the quarterfinals of individual competition before this season, when she fell in the semifinals to top-seeded Jessica Roland of Hollywood, the eventual champion.

Roland is ranked No. 37 nationally and No. 19 in Southern California in the girls’ 18 division by the USTA.

Dao’s only other loss was to Diana Friedland of Van Nuys, ranked No. 16 in Southern California in girls’ 16s, in a regular-season match.

“Jasmin came into school an outstanding player and she’s improved each year,” Wood said.

Dao has transformed her serve from a liability into a weapon, developed an all-court game instead of limiting herself to the baseline, and gained resolve and confidence on the court.

“She just comes up with the shots and she’s tough to beat,” Wood said. “It’s hard to hit shots she can’t get to. I wouldn’t say she’s the fastest girl in the world but she seems to anticipate very well.”

But not even Dao anticipated the extent of the Highlanders’ success.

En route to the City title, Granada Hills dominated opponents, winning all but its first and last matches by 7-0 scores. The Highlanders won 916 games and lost 146 against City teams.

“Last year we were very close, so we really wanted to win this year,” Dao said. “I don’t think we thought we’d dominate like we did, though. . .

“It was just an amazing season.”

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ALL-REGION GIRLS’ TENNIS TEAM

First Team

Stephanie Berg (Junior)

Harvard-Westlake -- Singles

* The Wolverines’ No. 1 player was strong in the postseason, going unbeaten in four playoff matches while leading her team to the Southern Section Division III title. Ranked No. 13 in Southern California in girls’ 16s by the U.S. Tennis Assn., Berg won the Mission League title.

Brooke Borisoff (Junior)

Agoura -- Singles

* Playing only in league matches and playoffs, Borisoff was 50-0 in sets, won the Marmonte League singles title for the third consecutive season and was the only player from the region to reach the quarterfinals of the Southern Section individual tournament.

Yasmin Fisher (Senior)

Buena -- Singles

* Runner-up for the singles title in the Channel League for the third consecutive season, Fisher advanced to the round of 16 in the Southern Section tournament before losing to eventual champion Luana Magnani of San Marino.

Vanessa Everly (Senior) and Brittany Bierman (Senior)

Calabasas -- Doubles

* Surprise Frontier League doubles champions, Everly and Bierman were the only Southern Section doubles quarterfinalists from the region. The Coyotes’ No. 2 doubles team, they finished with a 49-4 record in sets, helping Calabasas to the Division IV championship.

Kathy Habuki (Senior) and Andrea Leewong (Junior)

Calabasas -- Doubles

* The Coyotes’ No. 1 doubles team lost the Frontier League final to Everly and Bierman, but advanced to the round of 16 in the individual tournament and posted a 50-3 record in sets.

Caryn Linder (Junior) and Shannon Slotnick (Junior)

Granada Hills -- Doubles

* Top-seeded in the City Section tournament, Linder and Slotnick won the section doubles title. They were 21-0, including the decisive victory in the Highlanders’ 4-3 victory over Carson in the City final.

Second Team

Jessica Leck (Sophomore)

Harvard-Westlake -- Singles

* One of three players in the top 50 in Southern California of girls’ 16s for Harvard-Westlake, No. 37-ranked Leck was Mission League singles runner-up. She also proved adept at doubles, joining Berg to reach the semifinals in the girls’ 16 division at the USTA National Hardcourt Championships in San Diego.

Melissa Nguyen (Senior)

Campbell Hall -- Singles

* The best of area players in small schools, Nguyen, ranked 28th in Southern California in girls’ 18s, went 64-2 in sets, losing only her last two to Borisoff in the round of 16 of the Southern Section individual tournament.

Erin Everly (Freshman)

Calabasas -- Singles

* Ranked No. 14 in girls’ 14s in Southern California, Everly went 58-7 as the Coyotes’ No. 1 player. Everly won the Frontier League singles title.

Andrea Blieden (Junior) and Jennifer Steinberg (Senior)

Granada Hills -- Doubles

* Finished with 20-1 season record and wound up third in the City individual doubles tournament. Defeated teammates Michal Zeituni and Robin Meselson in the third-place match.

Kinsley Carnahan (Senior) and Jessica Testwuide (Sophomore)

Chaminade -- Doubles

* Both usually played singles during regular season but they were a formidable pair in tournament play. Carnahan and Testwuide won the Mission League doubles title and advanced to the third round of Southern Section individual play.

Jennifer Lee (Senior) and Kara MacDonald (Junior)

Crescenta Valley -- Doubles

* They won the Pacific League doubles championship to close out a sweep by Falcon teams of the top three places in the league competition. They were unbeaten until the second round of the Southern Section individual tournament. Lee (50-10) and MacDonald (54-5) recorded 13 three-set sweeps in round-robin play to spark the Falcons to a share of their third league title in five years.